When the Sun Don't Shine
by hazy sea
Summary: Spencer never thought he would be married. He never thought he would be fighting for a marriage either.
1. Chapter 1

"Derek, I need to talk to you."

The words came out of Laura Reid's mouth a little softer than expected and Derek lifted his head from his files and his eyebrows raised, clearing his throat. Laura had never expected to end up here, seeking advice from the man who had essentially brought her and her husband together. She had only assumed that Derek knew Spencer a lot better than she ever did and needed someone - anyone - to confide in about their issues. She could only imagine how small and vulnerable she looked. She felt like an ant and only more so when the 6'1" agent stood up beside her, took her small hand in his and led her up the stairs and into the conference room.

Laura only expected that he knew what was going on. Spencer had his way of discussing everything about their relationship with everyone except for her. Derek shut the door behind them, ignoring the stares of the rest of his team (minus Spencer, who was meeting with Aaron).

"He told me about the divorce papers, Laura," Derek said, not making eye contact with her. She could sense his bitterness towards her and she didn't blame him, she was breaking one of his best friend's heart.

"He's changed, Derek. I didn't know what else to do," Laura said, her voice shaky.

"You could try talking to him about everything. Don't get me wrong, I love you and you're one of my best friends, but you married someone I have spent the last seven years spending almost every day with."

"Derek, I have tried. He does not open up to me like he used to," Laura said, crossing her arms over her chest. It was cold in the conference room and she hadn't looked at Derek since he had brought her up here.

"Well, there's still something there. He said you agreed to go to Charleston with him," Derek said, sighing, "I suggest you guys just lay low and talk."

"I mean, I'm still in love with him, yes, but I don't know if this can be fixed. We've done nothing but fight for months now."

Derek shook his head and propped his hands up on his hips, "You remember when I came to you for help with that girl I was dating? Do you remember what you told me?"

"To keep your chin up and that you were a great catch and that if she didn't want you, she was an idiot. How is that even relevant?"

"You told me not to give up if I thought it was real," Derek said, "So please don't give up, because you make Spencer thrive."

Laura sighed, looking up at Derek. She knew she had been defeated, "Imagine how awkward the ride down is gonna be."

Derek chuckled and engulfed Laura in one of his bear hugs, "Maybe you guys can talk it out on the way down there and then not leave the bedroom for a week."

"Derek!" Laura said, laughing. She smacked his arm and then her face dropped, remembering the last time she and Spencer had been together romantically. It had been six months. He had been working late and taking more cases, she had been working with more models and shooting around the clock. After two months of trying to keep their marriage above water, Laura had given up trying to keep Spencer interested and started bringing her laptop to bed with them.

"Aw, c'mon, Laura," Derek said, "You guys stopped the physical stuff, too?"

"We've stopped everything, Derek. I feel like he is just a roommate helping with the mortgage," Laura said, shrugging, "I have to get home and pack. We're leaving when he gets home."

"Well, you guys have fun. Keep your phone off and focus on him," Derek said.

Laura nodded, handing Derek the blue lunch bag she had been carrying, "Can you get this to Spencer? It's lunch."

"Sure," Derek said, laughing softly, "I can't believe you're divorcing him and you're still making him lunch."

"Maybe he'll change my mind."

**ooo**

Seven o'clock that evening found Laura standing over the stove, letting some hamburger meat simmer. Spencer was late coming home again, but she was used to it. She half figured he had another case and didn't bother calling, but Spencer was always good at letting her know when he wouldn't be there. It wasn't until seven-thirty that she heard the front door open and shut loudly. She stayed as quiet as she could in the kitchen as she stirred the jumbo shells in their pot, and when she felt Spencer's presence in the kitchen, she kept her gaze down.

"Hey," he said, softly. She could imagine his hands in his pockets and his tie loosened, and only proved herself right when she turned her head to smile softly at him. This used to drive her wild and make her want to jump him right there in the door way, but now he just made her nervous. She wanted them to work things out, but she didn't want to go trough the process. She just wanted it all to go away.

"Hi."

"Whatcha cookin'?" He asked, leaning against the door frame. He looked so relaxed and comfortable and like nothing in the world was bothering him, but she could tell in his eyes that he was mentally exhausted and not the happiest.

"Uhm, stuffed shells. I figured we could have something light before we leave," Laura said, as Spencer walked across the kitchen and stood beside her. She froze, Spencer was only this close to her when they were asleep, and her heart nearly jumped out of her chest when he let his hand rest on her lower back.

"Thanks for lunch today, it was great," he said, leaning in to kiss her temple.

Laura could feel the tears welling in her eyes and she sighed, moving away from him to dump the hamburger meat in a large bowl. She began mixing the ingredients together and managed to hold back her tears and choke out an 'you're welcome'.

"I'm going to go pack," he said, his voice suddenly bitter. He brushed by her and she sighed, leaving the mixture on the counter as she followed behind him.

"So, should I just sign those papers or are you actually willing to work on this marriage with me?" Spencer started, throwing his suitcase on the bed. He looked up at Laura and then unzipped the suitcase forcibly and moved back to the dresser to grab some of his clothes.

"Spencer," Laura started, but he cut her off with a sharp "no".

"Do not stand there and tell me you want to work on this and then refuse to put in the effort. I have no idea what I'm doing. I've never been married before, and you haven't either. That is why we've got to start communicating," Spencer said. His voice went from bitter to soft and Laura crossed the room to stand in front of him.

"I love you, Spencer. That's why I married you."

"Then why are you divorcing me?"

The words stung, ripped right through her heart like an bullet and finally, the tears she had been holding back for months let go and she found herself near hysterical in front of her husband, "I don't want to divorce you, Spencer! You're a fucking genius and you can't even figure that out. I just don't know how to deal with our problems. We've let them go for so long that it's just too much to work out at once."

"So we'll take baby steps," Spencer said, pulling Laura against his chest, "Baby, you just have to talk to me. I'm here whenever you need me, okay? I married you for a reason."

"Spencer, you have to talk to me, too," Laura mumbled into his work shirt, "I feel like we haven't spoken in months."

"We haven't, honestly. Just calm down. We can get out of this mess," Spencer said, he was running his fingers through her hair trying to comfort her.

They stood there for what seemed like ages and when Laura finally pulled away from Spencer's embrace, she offered a soft smile and then headed to the bathroom to wash her face, knowing she probably looked like a mess. She sighed and rested her palms on the edge of the sink. It hadn't been much but she appreciated the effort Spencer was making. At least he had agreed to work on it with her. They were late leaving for the beach and she heard Spencer begin packing his things. She took this chance to gather her bath things and her makeup.

When she exited the bathroom, Spencer was shirtless. Her breath caught in her throat when he turned around to look at her. To say that he looked great would be an understatement. He had been working out, obviously. His usually thin, undefined torso was now toned, tan, and looked rock solid.

And as much as Laura wanted to jump him right then and there, she refrained. After all, there would be plenty of time for that during the week.


	2. Chapter 2

**This got such a great response that I decided to post the second chapter tonight. :)**

"I hate that you work all the time," Laura said.

"I hate that you work with men all the time," Spencer retorted.

They were drunk, or at least, getting there. They had agreed to talk about their problems over a bottle of wine. Laura and Spencer were both laid back in the sand, staring up at the stars, and passing the bottle between them, letting out all their secrets. It was their second night at the beach and the night was warm. Laura had on a gray tight fitting hoodie and a pair of dark brown shorts, and her long brown hair was messy because of the salt water and done up in a bun on top of her head. She had begun to feel better about their marriage since they've been here, and she wanted it to last.

"I hate that you snore," Laura said, giggling as she took a sip from the wine bottle.

Spencer laughed loudly and sat up, "I do not snore! This is supposed to be serious, Laura!"

Laura looked up at him and shrugged, "I am being serious. It drives me nuts whenever you fall asleep before I do because it sounds like I'm sleeping with an angry dog."

"That just hurts. Fine, I hate when you do that thing you do in the mirror before you leave for work," Spencer grabbed the bottle of wine from Laura and gulped some down before planting it in the sand beside him, "That thing where you'll pick out what you're wearing, fuck with it for fifteen minutes, and then shrug like you don't look good. You _always_ look good, Laura."

"I'll work on it. I hate that you don't tell me I'm pretty anymore."

"I hate that you don't send me dirty texts anymore while I'm at work," Spencer said, smiling lightly.

Laura laughed and then her gaze fell to Spencer's hand gripping the wine bottle, "I hate that you don't wear your wedding band anymore."

Spencer's smile faded and he tucked his left hand under his leg. Laura had noticed the day he stopped wearing it and she had taken hers off, too. That was the day she also started their divorce. It was no-questions-asked to her. She figured if he didn't care enough to wear the most important ring he'd ever wear, then he didn't care enough about their marriage.

"I hate that we lost the baby," Spencer said, softly, looking down at his lap. They both knew that was the start of the downhill race they were in. Laura had been six months pregnant with a little girl when she went into premature labor. Ever since then, Laura had shut off. She didn't look at Spencer like she used to, she didn't touch Spencer like she used to. She felt like Spencer had blamed her for losing their child and she was terrified of being _that _close to him after the fact. Laura could barely even look at herself in the same way. She stared up at the stars with tears in her eyes and she cleared her throat, nodding.

"Me too," she whispered, as Spencer grabbed her hands and pulled her up to sit in front of him. Gravity caused the tears to spill out and down her sun kissed cheeks where they eventually landed in the sand between them.

Spencer looked her dead in the eyes and squeezed her hands hard, "It's not your fault."

Laura inhaled a shaky breath and when she exhaled, it turned into a sob and she flung her arms around Spencer's neck, planting herself in his lap. She cried harder than she ever had before, but felt strangely relieved. It was like the elephant that had been sitting on her chest for the past six months had fallen off, disappeared just with four words. Spencer wrapped his arms around her tightly, his own tears disappearing into Laura's hoodie, and the both of them stayed there, the bottle of wine forgotten.

"I'm so sorry, Spencer," Laura mumbled, after what had seemed like ages of crying. She had finally calmed down, "I'm so sorry about our baby girl."

"Laura, please stop. It wasn't your fault. You did everything right. It just wasn't supposed to happen. Someone thought we weren't ready for it apparently, but look what we're doing now. We are fixing something we thought couldn't be fixed," Spencer's fingers clutched Laura's hips over her clothes and pressed her down into his lap, "I haven't been this close to you in months, Laura."

Laura just stared into Spencer's eyes and when she felt Spencer's hands leave her hips and slide under her hoodie, she sighed and whispered, "I hate that you don't kiss me anymore."

As if Spencer had just gotten the permission he had needed for the past half a year, his lips collided with hers in a raw, heated kiss. Laura had almost forgotten what his lips felt like, but she didn't want to forget this kiss. It was their first kiss in almost four months and it was full of pure fire. Spencer had ignited a spark somewhere in her. She _wanted_ him to touch her, she _wanted_ him to kiss her and take her to bed like he used to. Laura's fingers tangled in Spencer's hair and pulled him further into the kiss, falling backwards in the sand, taking her husband with her.

His body slid over top of hers, her legs falling to the sides to accommodate him. They continued their kiss until Spencer broke away, his lips falling to her neck and up to her ear, where he bit down gently. Laura let out a soft moan and sighed, as Spencer threaded his fingers through hers and held her arm down by her head, and it wasn't until Laura felt the water lapping at her toes that she pulled away from Spencer's kisses and looked up him through hazy eyes.

"I'll race you to the house," she whispered, pushing Spencer off of her and into the sand beside her. She leaped up and sprinted through the small patch of brush and up the stairs to the French doors that led into the kitchen. As her hand touched the door knob, Spencer was behind her, pressing her into the glass. She moaned as his lips touched the back of her neck and her back arched when he bit down on her skin, pressing her bottom into his hips. Spencer tugged the hair band from her hair and watched as it tumbled down her back in curls.

Spencer spun her around and pressed himself as close as he could get to his wife and threaded his fingers through her hair, letting his hand rest against the side of her face, "Laura, I love you so much."

Laura laughed lightly and kissed the closest part of Spencer she could reach, "I love you, too."

She fell back when Spencer opened the door and almost screamed, but Spencer never let go of her and only pulled them back together. Laura realized that they weren't going to make it to the bedroom as soon as Spencer lifted her up onto the kitchen island, but she let her clothes come off anyway and by the time she was down to her underwear, she was feeling a little overwhelmed. She pulled away from Spencer's kiss and leaned back on her hands. Spencer leaned forward and attached his lips to her chest, as she threaded her fingers through his hair.

"Spencer... can we take this a little slower?"

He looked up at her with wide eyes and nodded his head, kissing her softly again before he pulled away and slid her off the island. Her legs wrapped around his waist and he carried her to the small bedroom on the bottom floor, laying her back on the bed gently. Spencer looked down at her, her brown hair splayed across the white comforter. He hadn't remembered her looking this beautiful. It seemed like she had been focusing on herself more when they fought; splurging on the spa days and manicures and facials.

"What's wrong?" Laura asked, softly, brushing a strand of hair out of her face. She was looking up at Spencer with wide eyes and he could see the vulnerability and fear that was showing itself.

"Nothing," Spencer said, lowering his head to kiss her, "Nothing at all."


	3. Chapter 3

"Laura, can you come here for a minute?"

Spencer had to speak over the loud music in the tiny shop and when he stood on his tiptoes to look over the clothes rack, he saw Laura talking to the sales clerk, who seemed to be flirting relentlessly. Laura turned and smiled at him and then immediately dismissed herself and walked over to where Spencer was standing.

"What'd you need, babe?" She said, sliding her arm around his waist. Spencer leaned down and kissed her head softly.

"I didn't like the way that guy was looking at you," Spencer whispered, pretending to flip through shirts on the rack.

Laura sighed and rolled her eyes, "Spence, we are at the _beach_. I am in a bikini, I look _damn_ good and I have a custom diamond on my finger. He got the point."

She was a little annoyed with his overprotective nature, but she understood his side of the argument they had every time he didn't want her talking to someone. She understood that he saw horrible things happen to people almost every day, and she understood how he felt when he couldn't help them. Laura didn't show her frustration but instead, let go of Spencer's waist and tucked her hands in the back pockets of her shorts.

"Let's get out of here," Spencer mumbled, "Their clothes suck anyway."

Spencer grabbed Laura's hand from her pocket and led her out of the clothing store and out onto the sidewalk. They fell in step beside each other silently and continued their walk down the main street. Laura had, initially, wanted to shop for new clothes and stuff for their new house back home. Ever since they had moved in, they had been fighting and working nonstop, so it was bare and some stuff was still in boxes.

"You're pissed off, aren't you?" Spencer said, after Laura had dragged him into a jewelry store.

Laura sighed as she peered into the counter at the pendants and shook her head, "No, I'm just... I don't want to talk about it here."

She felt Spencer stare at her for a moment and then heard him sigh and mumble a 'fine'. By the time they had walked back to their beach house, Laura was exhausted from spending the day in the heat. The sun was setting and it had started to cool down, but Laura shed her clothes as she walked through the dark house and ultimately ended up in the pool.

She hadn't paid attention to where Spencer had went off too. She could only imagine he was somewhere sulking and being in a bad mood because she had snapped at him. She wiped the water from her face as she resurfaced and exhaled heavily, swimming over to the side of the pool where she pulled herself up and onto the edge, letting her feet dangle in the water. She heard Spencer open the door from the kitchen and he sat down beside her, handing her a cold sweet tea.

"Thank you," she said, taking the glass between her hands, "Look, about earlier, Spencer. I'm really -"

"Laura, stop. It's okay," he said, "I know that I can be a bit overbearing sometimes, especially lately because I just feel like I got you back into this marriage and willing to work on our issues that I don't want to lose you to someone younger and hotter."

Laura laughed softly and leaned her head against his shoulder, "If I gave you those papers because I was going to be with someone younger and hotter, I wouldn't have even come here with you, Spence. Can we just forget about it?"

"I guess," Spencer said, shrugging. Laura's head moved with his shoulders and she lifted her head up and stretched her legs out.

"I think I like it that you're a little controlling," she said, softly, looking over at Spencer.

"What do you mean? I'm not controlling, Laura."

"I mean, you always know who is a good person. You always know who is gonna be good to me. If I didn't have you to tell me who to talk to, I'd get my feelings hurt a lot."

Spencer smiled softly and shook his head, "I think you'd be okay."

"I dunno. That guy in that store was eying my tits the whole time," Laura said, laughing.

"That asshole. I don't even get to look at those," Spencer said, scoffing, "I'm so hurt."

"Oh, shut up, Spencer! You seem them every day."

"Yeah," Spencer said, "Lately."

Laura blushed and giggled to herself as she sipped her tea. She sat the glass down beside her and yawned, watching the sun lower into the sky. They had been on their little marriage revival for almost a week now. Laura knew at some point all this magic had to end and even though they had just learned to be civil around each other again and act like they were married, they were going to be thrust into the normal life with Spencer's cases and Laura's photo shoots in just a few days. She was terrified that they would just go back to being the cold, bitter couple they were. She was terrified Spencer was still thinking about signing the divorce papers.

Laura sighed and kicked her feet in the water and when Spencer reached over and grabbed her hand, she looked up at him and raised her eyebrow in question.

"Do you want to try for another baby?"

The question stopped Laura dead in her tracks and she just stared at Spencer like she hadn't even comprehended what he said. She hadn't even thought Spencer wanted the first baby, much less try for another one after they lost it.

"Spencer, the Charleston air is getting to your head," Laura finally said, laughing to herself.

"Laura, I'm not joking," Spencer said, his voice firm, "And I want to renew our vows. Have a real wedding. Besides, it's been five years."

Laura flashed back to their "wedding". They got married at the courthouse in a hurry. Spencer's team and mother were there, and Laura's family. They were done in ten minutes. The reception was at the local Chinese restaurant they all loved. It had worked for them at that point in time. They both were young and in love and Spencer was about to leave the country for work for a couple months. Laura wanted to secure him as hers for good before then, and Spencer the same.

"Can we at least get the wedding out of the way before the baby?" Laura asked softly, smiling widely.

"Whatever you want," Spencer said, softly, "Just give me a daughter."

Laura laughed and nodded, throwing her arms around Spencer's neck. She hugged him tightly and then immediately hopped up and ran into the house. Spencer followed her and laughed when he saw her on her phone, updating her Facebook.

_We're having a real wedding and all y'all are invited!_


End file.
